The session was held during the World Regulatory Briefing: Responsible Gambling Innovation conference, which concluded with a focus on creating a segmented approach to target different risk groups.
Research tends to show that young people are more likely to self-exclude for six months or more than any other age groupSimo Dragicevic
When addressing the issue of young gamblers, Simo Dragicevic, CEO of data analytics firm BetBuddy, said: “In all the data we published, they are the ones who are at most risk. If you look at other research, they consistently come up. They’re just not as well matured and developed to make smart decisions. If they want to gamble, they will find a way to gamble. You shouldn’t have to encourage them.
“Research tends to show that young people are more likely to self-exclude for six months or more than any other age group. It’s a one size fits all solution for a segment. You need to micro-segment, try to go a bit further and maybe get some additional data that could help you.”
After being asked about whether the focus on young people is shifting towards unregulated verticals such as eSports and skin betting, Lee Willows, Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Gamblers Education Trust, said: “We’re not a campaign organisation, but if we were to be a campaign organisation, regulating social gaming would be absolutely critical. That’s the thing that teachers talk about. It’s not so much gambling – it’s social gaming.”
Pedro Romero, Head of Gambling Therapy, an online advisory service, said: “With things like eSports and skin betting, I think the solution is not prohibition, it’s regulation. If you don’t regulate, people will go to unregulated markets.”
